View full sizeJoshua Cavett, 36, during his arraignment on the charge of murder.Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

Jessie Doyle Cavett, a 27-year old Gresham woman shot in the head Saturday in her apartment, told Clackamas County Circuit Court officials that her estranged husband threatened to torture her by "tying me up to a chair to peel my skin off layer by layer."

She detailed the threats in a restraining order granted Aug. 5. The couple also filed for a divorce in Multnomah County that month.

In a 16-page restraining order request, Jessie Cavett said 36-year old Joshua Cavett continued to harass her this past summer, saying he would give her a "hot shot," a drug injection that would kill her.

"He says he will hurt me or have me hurt by someone else that no one will ever know," she wrote. "He will not let me alone to be a mother."

Joshua Cavett is accused of shooting his wife early Saturday and then abducting their 2-year-old daughter, Paige, triggering an Amber Alert. Jessie Cavett was pronounced dead early Sunday at OHSU Hospital of a gunshot wound to the head.

In a probable cause affidavit released Monday, prosecutors said police arrived to find Jessie Doyle lying near the front door of her apartment. Detectives removed her older daughter, Peyton, 5, from the scene.

View full sizeJessie Doyle CavettBella Institute School of Cosmetology

Before police got there, the girl had called a family friend and said – "Josh hurt Mommy, Josh shot Mommy," and the friend called 911, Deputy District Attorney Christine Mascal said in the affidavit.

Another man told Gresham police that Cavett had been at his apartment with a small child and a woman named "Keshia," Mascal said. Police recovered three firearms and ammunition there that belonged to Cavett, she said.

At 9 p.m. Saturday, police arrested Cavett without incident. They discovered a loaded firearm in his backpack, according to the affidavit.

Cavett told the arresting officer: "I'm not going to complain, I just (expletive) killed somebody," the prosecutor said.

Cavett pleaded not guilty to murder and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Cavett frequently looked down during his brief appearance Monday; there were two jail guards with him in the courtroom's glass enclosure.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 22.

Gresham police said they tracked down Cavett when two people recognized him from the Amber Alert information.

He and his daughter were near a Gresham apartment complex in the 1500 block of Southwest Pleasant View Drive, about a mile from where Jessie Cavett was shot. His daughter was taken to a hospital as a precaution.

In Clackamas County Circuit Court records, Jessie Cavett described the abuse she said she suffered at the hands of her husband.

He pushed her down on a couch on April 15 and "proceeded to hit my head over and over again followed by him kicking me in my stomach," she said in the restraining order request.

In July, court records show, she said the torture threats came from Joshua Cavett via text message.

"Josh has a history of using meth, however I do not believe he was intoxicated with anything at all on April 15; he had just gotten out of jail," she wrote.

Court records also show that Joshua Cavett wasn't allowed to have parenting time with Paige after Jessie Cavett won sole custody of their daughter from a Multnomah County Circuit Court judge in July.

Jessie Cavett worked at the Bella Institute School of Cosmetology in Southeast Portland. A message on the school's answering machine said the school would be closed Monday "due to a tragic loss." The school will be open to students Tuesday, but not to the public.

Kimberly Beddor, the owner and executive director of Bella Institute, said Jessie Cavett was instrumental in her decision to start the business about seven years ago and worked there from the beginning as a hair stylist instructor.

The school, at 2215 Southeast Division Street, will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday as a fund-raiser for Jessie Cavett's two children and her family.

"She was an extremely loyal and loving person and a talented stylist who ensured the success of our business," Beddor said. "We want to focus on Jessie – focus on her legacy and put the ugliness behind us."

She said Jessie Cavett was trying to cut off her relationship with her husband and make a new life for herself.

"She always saw the good in people, and was beautiful inside and out," Beddor said. "She was a loving mother and an amazing friend ... who lost her life in a senseless, violent act."

Meanwhile, Gresham police said they continue to search for Keshia Moritz, 28, who they say may have information that might help investigators.

Police describe Moritz as 5-foot-6 and about 140 pounds with tattoos on her upper chest, a pierced nose and a pierced lower lip. They asked anyone with information about Moritz to call to the Gresham police tip line at 503-618-2719 or 1-888-989-3505.